


Almost a proposal

by ZeldaElmo



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Bad Flirting, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Link is a tease, Teasing, Zelda too, crazy Link, let them be teenager, zelink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:33:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25283935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZeldaElmo/pseuds/ZeldaElmo
Summary: Link used to be quiet, even stoic. Post-Calamity he is a flirty madman, who loves to tease Zelda.Or:How to coax a love confession out of a wild boy.Now Beta-read and edited byHufflepuffGirl95. Thank you again!
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 126





	Almost a proposal

**Author's Note:**

> Just a short story to honour Link's crazy side in botw.

We’re sitting on the hill next to Link’s house, between Ebon mountain and Purah’s lab enjoying the night. It’s a beautiful evening, and we’re looking at the stars above us in the clear sky. Link even brought a small blanket and a few honeyed apples. We’re sitting close, shoulders occasionally brushing against each other. It was _almost_ romantic. If not for the smug look on Link’s handsome face.

“See? I knew you’d like it! A traveler on the road told me every girl loves shooting stars. Safe bet so far!”

I can’t help but roll my eyes at him. “So, what? You’re a womanizer these days?”

“Hey! I got a few offers from men too, when I was in my Gerudo disguise.” He informs me with a self-satisfied smile. “Anyway, it’s not my fault that I’m _sinfully handsome_ as Urbosa once put it. And if I remember correctly, you didn’t mind yesterday when I caught you watching me while I was training shirtless.” He smirks.

I roll my eyes again. Honestly, if I had a rupee for every time, I roll my eyes at this boy, we could rebuild Hyrule in no time at all. I know he’s just trying to one up me in our little game, but I won’t give him the satisfaction of that.

“Fair enough. But if I remember correctly, you started this whole checking out competition. You might not remember, but this one-time Urbosa got you drunk, you admitted to everyone in Gerudo Town that I have a very nice backside.” I smirked at him smugly.

He doesn’t even have the decency to be embarrassed. “Oh yeah. Your backside was easily the best thing about that day, when you shoved the frog in my face, if you ask me.”

According to countless lessons of etiquette, I should be ashamed of myself, but I’m not. I already know that he’s attracted to me. And the reverse is true for me. He’s been such a tease since our reunion and has been flirting with me nonstop. I really love flirting back, but it bothers me that I don’t know the truth of his feelings. That’s why I’ve been wracking my brain to figure out how I could drag this guy into a serious discussion about the status of our relationship. Getting him to open up about his feelings was always difficult, but he’s not the quiet knight anymore. Now he’s chatty and well, very flirty. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that he talks about his feelings. Sometimes I’m still a bit annoyed with this new version of my appointed knight.

Of course, I was aware of the possibility, that he could lose his memory in the shrine of resurrection. That was the reason I left all those pictures on the slate after all. In all honesty though, I wasn’t aware of the parts of his personality, which had obviously been crushed by his duty a hundred years ago. I don’t know how exactly I expected him to be after a complete amnesia, but certainly not like this.

I got the first clue about the new Link immediately after I sealed Ganon away. I spent a century with Hylia in my mind and when I got my mortal body back, I radiated nothing but dignity. I praised the hero of Hyrule for his feats in words of wisdom. Instead of answering my question concerning his memory, he pulled me in a bear hug and chuckled, “It’s only me, Zel. You can skip your Hylia-mode. Are you alright? Suppose you were right about me being not immortal. I’m sorry for that.” I can’t remember if I answered him at all. The last time we saw each other, he was dying in my arms and when we finally met again after one hundred years, my dutiful, stoic knight has a pet name for me and jokes about my hard-earned power and his own death! I really didn’t anticipate _that_. Raised as a princess, I wasn’t used to such casual behavior, let alone from my appointed knight of all people. Needless to say, I was a bit flustered around him. I agreed to use the Master Cycle for the trip to Kakariko nonetheless, but I was not prepared for how Goddesses be damned sexy he looked in his climbing gear sitting on his divine beast! I began to suspect that he was doing this on purpose. But now, I wasn’t a bit flustered anymore, I was _hot and flustered_. Sitting in front of him, his body pressed against my back and his hot breath brushing my neck was not helping in this regard! Fortunately, the shock of seeing Impa old and wrinkled, cooled me down quite quickly. Anyway, I’m not unhappy about Link’s new personality. It took me a few days to adjust to it, but in a way, it’s fitting. Since there is no kingdom anymore, there is no need for useless formalities.

“Did you make a wish?” Link nods in the direction of the shooting star and interrupts my train of thought.

“Yes, of course. But I won’t tell you.” I wink at him. “Do you know what I used to wish for, when I was younger?”

“I suppose, a certain Hero following you around was not on your list?” he smiles sheepishly at me.

“No,” I laugh. “I always wished to be free. Free to do what I love, no prayer, no duty, no princess.”

His face gets a bit thoughtful. “I guess, in a way your wish was granted...though…I’m still here. Perhaps you should try to get rid of me, too.” Suddenly, his smirk is back.

I roll my eyes, playfully this time. “Fat chance. Getting rid of you is an impossible task. Trust me, I tried often enough. Last time I told you to run, you even came back from death to keep me safe.”

“Yeah, that sounds like me!” He laughed.

“What about you? Do you recall, what you used to wish for?”

“Ah, that’s a bit silly in comparison. I always wished to become Captain of the Royal Guard. My father and my grandfather were knights too, as you know. But they never rose in the ranks because we’re not of noble birth. I dreamed of proving to everyone that your skills are what’s important, not your status.”

”Link, that’s a goal to achieve but not a wish for a shooting star. You were the youngest member of the royal guard, with your skill set, you would have been Captain in no time.”

He shrugs. “It was nothing but wishful thinking, when I was a squire. The rest was hard work. But I suppose, you are the only noble woman who knows what it means to dedicate everything for one goal.” He shoots me a lopsided smile.

“Hey, in a way, your wish came true, too! You are the highest-ranking soldier of the royal guard now, are you not? And head of the army too.”

He laughs. “Yeah, you could say that. But head of the army? That’s a job for a king, isn’t it?”

It’s my turn to smirk now. “I don’t know, technically you are the highest rank of the army, perhaps that makes you king?”

I’m rewarded with the first genuine smile this evening, which sends butterflies in my stomach. “Zel, I might be the head of the army now, but only you could make me king. And only if you were to honor me with your hand in marriage.”

I waggle my eyebrows playfully at him.

“Is that a proposal?”

“Hell no!”

My stomach drops a bit at his reaction. Perhaps he doesn’t actually see me like that. 

He blinks twice, lays a hand on my knee and whispers in my ear. “Zelda, when I ask you to marry me, you’ll get a proposal you deserve. Not a tease over ranks and orders. I’ll sweep you off your feet, and you won’t know what hit you.” He brushes over my ring finger with his fingertips. “I’ve got tons of gemstones. I’ll get you the most beautiful engagement ring in the whole of Hyrule.”

My heart is pounding in my ears. Is he aware of what he just said? “When? Not if?”

He leans back in his own personal space and raises an eyebrow.

I clarify, “You said when you ask me to marry you. Not if you ask me.”

His smirk is completely gone, and he looks at me with a curious expression. “Well, yeah? What’s wrong with that?”

I force myself to breathe. This is the opportunity I had waited for. _Don’t screw it up now._

“Uhh, yes, I …” Very eloquent, Zelda. This time, I roll my eyes inwardly at myself.

He looks a bit puzzled at first and then his expression turns into a frown. “Did…did I scare you? I remember vaguely, you were afraid of being married before, right? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to push a button. Small things like that still slip from my mind, I’m sorry. Listen Zel, there is no one left to force you to marry. No king, no council, no one. And even if someone were to dare and try, he would have to deal with me first.” He grits his teeth and his eyes get the same look of determination I remember from the Yiga incident.

“Whoa! Link, please calm down. It’s not a marriage that I dislike. It’s the idea of being with someone I don’t even like that scares me. Now that I have the possibility to choose, I want to marry for love.” I hesitate a bit with what I want to say next. “That... that is the reason I was confused about your choice of words.”

I wonder, if he’s gotten the message or if I will have to ask him directly how he feels about me. He embraces his knees and looks in the distance. Although parts of him have changed dramatically, he is as difficult to read as ever.

Eventually, he begins to speak, but still refuses to look at me. “Remember when I took you out on a date for a picnic in Kakariko?”

I can’t help but snort. “Yeah, that was kind of romantic. Until Cotera started making out with you because she wanted to upgrade your Champions Tunic.”

“Uh, yes, ok, that turned out weird.”

“Try again, then.”

“Paragliding together? I’m sure you liked being very close to me and flying in the evening sun.”

“Yes, I liked it.” He smirks confidently at me, “See? Me, too.”

“I liked it until you closed the Paraglider, and we fell out of the sky until you reopened it in the very last moment. Link, you nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“Well, free fall is half of the fun of it, isn’t it?” I just shoot him a look.

”Ok, ok.” He raises his hands in defense. “What about the silent princesses in our garden?”

“Link. When you showed me the flowers, you admitted, that you’d always wondered, why they named them “Silent Princess” after me, when I’m not silent at all. Goddess, then you sneaked up on me and whispered in my ear: _I bet you are very vocal in the sheets, too_!”

“Bet still stands.” He smirks his trademark smirk.

“Next try, Link.” Oh, this is more fun than I expected it to be.

“Pff…Hey, I found and tamed the descendent of your royal horse for you and even got him the original royal gear!” Now he blinks at me with puppy eyes. The doubt that he loves me has long vanished from my heart. But I don’t want him to get out of this that easily after all the weeks of him teasing me to no end.

“You named my horse after yourself, as it is called Hero of Hyrule.” I deadpan. “Hardly a proof of love, Hero.”

“Hey, for your information, I did not name him after myself. I named him Hero of Hyrule because he carried me in the battle with Ganon, and he is a Hero just like you and me.”

I enjoy teasing him as much as he enjoys teasing me, so I strike my final blow. “Ah, must be your bad influence. I thought you just liked imagining me riding the Hero of Hyrule.”

He groans and falls flat on his back in the grass, his hands covering his eyes. “Zelda! Goddess, you can’t say things like that! You just … can’t!”

The sight of him, torn between arousal and awkwardness makes me giggle. Soon enough, he peeks through his fingers and we both begin laughing hard. Moments like this are probably the best thing about this whole mess with Calamity Ganon and the lost century. We are allowed to be what we are. Two teenagers just being teenagers.

It takes some time until we calm down and when we are able to breathe normally, he sits up again. Expectantly I wait for him to speak.

“You’re gonna make me say it, aren’t you?” he sighs in defeat.

“That’s called revenge, honey!” “I really like the sound of that.”

“What, revenge?” It’s his turn to roll his eyes now, but I’m not done teasing him just yet.

“Very well. I’m better with actions than with words as you know, but I’m Farore’s Chosen for a reason. I won’t back out of a love confession if that’s what you need from me.” He pauses and breathes deeply.

“Go on, then.” I try to suppress my giddy grin. He seems to be very convinced of my feelings for him because he isn’t nervous at all. Well, awakening my sealing power because of him wasn’t the most subtle thing on earth, I guess.

He looks at me but doesn’t make any attempt to touch me or speak at first.

“Zelda, do you remember the first time we really met?” He finally began. “When I came to the castle with the sword and your father introduced us? I knew you were the one immediately. I just couldn’t do anything about it, being your appointed knight and all. Goddess, when I woke up after a hundred years, I didn’t even remember my own name. But hearing your voice was like coming home. My memories are still a bit fuzzy as you know. But I never stopped loving you. And once you were free, I fell in love with you all over again. I know I’m not the knight in shining armor I perhaps used to be, with all this reckless shield surfing, paragliding, and Master Cycle stuff. I probably enjoy teasing you far too much to be a real gentleman. But one thing never changed. I will never let anything or anyone harm you until my dying breath. I’ve done it before, and I would do it again with no regrets.”

He pauses a moment. “Zelda, I love you. I always have, and I always will.”

His eyes are so intense that a shiver runs done my spine. I don’t know what I expected, but certainly not this.

While I consider an appropriate answer, his expression changes into a smirk again, and his eyes fill with mischief. He wraps his strong arms around my waist and with one swift motion, he pulls me into his lap.

“Wanna kiss me?” He asks jauntily with a lopsided smile.

Oh, obviously we’re back to teasing before I could even think of an answer.

“Can’t argue with that, honey...” I said as I lean up and let his lips meet mine for the first time.

Sure enough, his lips taste like the honeyed apples we had eaten not long ago. He breaks the kiss and starts kissing down my neck. When he sucks at my pulse point, I can’t help but moan happily. I longed for over a hundred years for this, after all. He pulls away and meets my questioning eyes with an evil smirk.

“Told you. Guess, I won that bet!”

I smack his arm lightly as I give him a reproachful look for ruining the moment.

I swear, this boy will be the death of me.


End file.
